Liberty and Religion: Church and State in Leiden's Reformation, 1572-1620 (Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions)

Leiden was the second largest city of the early modern Dutch Republic. This city became officially Protestant in 1572, but it took fifty years before the Reformed Church settled completely into the city's polity and society. This was largely due to disagreements between the city's ruling elites and the Reformed leaders about how much independence the church should enjoy. This book examines the establishment and early history of the Reformed community of Leiden. The evolution of the controversy between church and state is examined, from the 1570s, during the Dutch Revolt, to the early 1620s - the beginning of the Dutch Republic's Golden Age. It also examines the consequences of this controversy for Leiden's non-Reformed confessions, especially Catholics, Lutherans and Mennonites, and places the case of Leiden in a wider Dutch and European context. Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 List of Abbreviations 12 Introduction 14 Interpretations of the Dutch Urban Reformation 15 Chapter One Leiden in the Late Sixteenth Century 32 Chapter Two Building a Church, 1572–1579 42 Chapter Three Schism in the Public Church, 1579–80 68 Chapter Four A “Minor Matter”: The Question of “Genevan” Discipline 103 The Excommunication of Caspar Coolhaes 104 The Disciplining of Pieter Hackius 114 The Leicester Conspiracy 131 Chapter Five The Second Generation of Conflict: Arminians and Gomarists 138 Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants 145 Chapter Six Public Church, Private Belief The Tolerated Congregations 175 “Baptist Errors”: Mennonites 178 “Inappropriate Conventicles”: Lutherans 183 “Papist Impudence”: Roman Catholics 192 Conclusion 210 The Reformation in the Dutch Cities 217 Appendix The Text of the Arbitral Accord 230 Bibliography 234 Indexes 248 Index of Persons 248 Index of Places 252 Index of Subjects 254 STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL AND REFORMATION THOUGHT 258 Although Leiden, the second largest city of the early modern Dutch Republic, officially became Protestant in 1572, it took fifty years before the Reformed Church was completely settled. This book sheds new light on the controversies between the city's political and religious elites.